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Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Women fight for equality by surfing the world’s most dangerous waves

Surfing is one of California’s most popular sports. There’s regular surfing. Then there’s big-wave surfing, a dangerous sport that happens only in about a dozen places on Earth, where waves can crest up to 60 feet.

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By Madeleine Brand • Feb 14, 2019 • 1 min read

Surfing is one of California’s most popular sports. There’s regular surfing. Then there’s big-wave surfing, a dangerous sport that happens only in about a dozen places on Earth, where waves can crest up to 60 feet. One of those spots is California’s Mavericks Beach, where waves are routinely 25 feet high or more. Now for the first time, 10 women have been invited to compete in the big wave surfing contest there for the same prize money as their male counterparts.

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    Madeleine Brand

    Host, 'Press Play'

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    Sarah Sweeney

    Vice President of Talk Programming, KCRW

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    Michell Eloy

    Line Editor, Press Play

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    Digital News & Culture Editor

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    Bianca Valenti

    surfer

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    New York Times

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